BOSTON — Boston Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving, a one-time teammate of LeBron James, will be part of the star-studded free agent class this summer.
It just so happens the Los Angeles Lakers, where James now resides, have cleared a large amount of cap space so they can woo another star to Hollywood.
Plenty of chatter has centered on the Lakers attempting a blockbuster trade for Anthony Davis. The Kawhi Leonard rumors haven’t completely gone away. There’s also Kevin Durant, who could leave Golden State after three seasons. Klay Thompson would be an ideal fit next to James — even if Thompson has repeatedly expressed his desire to stay in the Bay Area. Jimmy Butler could be a target.
But what about Irving?
“Anything is possible,” Tristan Thompson, who arrived in Cleveland at the same time as Irving, told cleveland.com while imitating Kevin Garnett. “One day he could wake up and think about it. Just the possibility for y’all to think about it. There’s a method to the madness.”
One year ago, the question about Irving and James reuniting would have been ludicrous. At that time, Irving was only months removed from forcing his way out of Cleveland, asking for a trade so he would be out of James’ shadow and could become the player he felt wasn’t possible with the Cavaliers.
That decision rocked the franchise and altered Cleveland’s plans.
In an interview with The Athletic earlier this season, James called Irving’s departure the “beginning of the end” of his tenure with the Cavs.
But Irving’s phone call to James recently — one where Irving apologized for, in his own words, “being that young player that wanted everything at his fingertips” — led to speculation around the league about a possible reunion.
“God no. No way,” ex-teammate Channing Frye told cleveland.com. “I think Kyrie is that guy that deserves his own team, that has the ability to take that team to a championship and I think in Kyrie’s mind he knows that and the rest of the league knows that. He’s reached that elite-level status and I think people want to play with him. He’s not second fiddle. He’s not Robin.”
That was part of Irving’s thinking when asking for a trade. According to one source who knew the Irving-James dynamic really well, the relationship between them wasn’t fractured to a point where it couldn’t work.
Yes, it bothered Irving that James challenged him so much, that James rarely used the term “we” and got the majority of the glory. James also had plenty of influence behind the scenes and probably didn’t do enough on his part to manage the complicated situation with Irving.
But Irving leaving Cleveland wasn’t about a dislike for James.
“There was no Draymond-KD stuff with them,” a source said.
It was more about Irving wanting something different. It was about getting a bigger platform, an opportunity to challenge his own greatness and be able to lead his own team — just as he’s doing in Boston.
“I don’t think there’s any likelihood that would happen,” the same source told cleveland.com when asked if the dynamic pairing would again consider teaming up. “Nothing precludes it from happening other than it’s not what Kyrie would prefer. Not because he doesn’t like LeBron. They didn’t have personal malice. But it’s because he likes being ‘the man’ more. I don’t think he wants to be viewed as following LeBron again to win.”
Kevin Love spent three years with Irving. Love was also there having dinner with James in that Italian restaurant about a week ago when Irving reached out.
Shortly after that story broke, Love tweeted about the growth he’s seen in his old teammate and how proud he was of Irving for taking that important step.
Love said he hasn’t talked to Irving about this July decision so he has “no idea” what Irving is thinking. But the Cavaliers forward admitted it would be a “very dramatic” shift for Irving to join another star’s team only two years after wanting his own squad.
“The funny thing about Kyrie is it’s like just when you think you know what he’s thinking then he will completely flip,” Love told cleveland.com. “I think he likes to keep people guessing. I think that’s going to be the big question this off-season. I know he said he was coming back to Boston and he very well could, but I think the only person that knows what Kyrie is going to do is Kyrie. I don’t know if he’s made up his mind yet.
“He could change on the drop of a dime because something will come up or the mood he was in or I don’t know.”
Back in October, before the season tipped off, Irving announced his plans to re-sign with the Celtics during a fan fest event.
It was then reported that Irving made a verbal commitment to Celtics ownership about his plans to stay in Boston long term — even saying publicly how he wanted his name a part of Celtics history.
But what if things don’t go according to plan? What if the leadership burden, which has led to a few moments of frustration from Irving this year, becomes too much?
He has already criticized some of the younger Celtics in a way James used to with him during their time in Cleveland together.
Or what if the Celtics have an earlier-than-expected playoff exit? What if they don’t offer him the max, which a league source speculated could end up being the Celtics’ final stance? What if the Boston front office tries to include him in another blockbuster deal to rejigger the roster around a different star, say, like Anthony Davis?
Then what? Would Irving head to Brooklyn? Would the New York Knicks have a shot? Would that bring Los Angeles into play?
“Could I see it happening? I guess, sure. It’s Kyrie. He’s different and his mind could change a bunch of times before that day,” one of Irving’s old Cavaliers teammates told cleveland.com. “But do I think LA is high on his list of preferred places? Probably not.”
There’s another layer to the Kyrie-LeBron chatter: James’ preference.
Sure, he was appreciative of the phone call and the Lakers purposefully signed a handful of players to one-year deals this off-season to keep financial flexibility. But would James want to team back up with Irving knowing the challenges that came with playing together the first time?
“With Bron I think you’re not going to turn away from a generational talent and that’s what Kyrie is,” Love said. “I’m sure if Kyrie wanted to go and those guys wanted to rekindle that I don’t think either would have a problem with that. But I think the probability is…I’m not entirely sure. I mean, do any of us know?
“That’s going to make for really interesting speculation this summer, especially if he doesn’t make his decision on the first day.”
Source: “Los Angeles” – Google News